Many of today's high-speed, high-power electronics generate significant amounts of heat. For example, data centers generally have large numbers of heat-generating electronic components, such as interconnected servers, switches, drive arrays, and other equipment. Laptop and desktop computers also generate significant amounts of heat. To prevent overheating, computer systems often include cooling systems, which may include fans, heatsinks, heatpipes, or the like.
Airborne dust can reduce cooling efficiency in computer systems by fouling cooling equipment and airflow paths. For example, dust may become trapped between the fins of a heatsink, reducing the flow of cooling air through the heatsink and increasing the likelihood that the electronic components may overheat. To mitigate computing failures because of dust fouling, dust filters can be employed to remove dust from the supply of cooling air. Generally, removing dust from flowing air has been performed by inserting a particle filter at an air intake. As air passes through the filter, dust particles and other contaminants are trapped within the filter material. However, as the mesh becomes substantially blocked by the dust particles, airflow through the filter drops substantially. Thus, the inlet filter method may often need frequent maintenance by the user to maintain sufficient system airflow for adequate cooling. If the inlet filters are not sufficiently maintained, the reduced airflow can result in a thermal event, such as overheating of electrical components or system shutdown.
However, if an inlet filter is not used, contaminants such as fibrous dust can have an adverse effect on high-density heatsinks. Fibrous dust is common in many user environments. Sources include textiles, building materials, cardboard, paper, housekeeping, plants, animals, and many others. As continuing miniaturization of electronics results in higher power density, heat sink fins are becoming thinner and more densely packed. The fins may often be close enough that they may be bridged by airborne fibers. The bridging fibers may then form a matrix that traps finer airborne particulates. This process can accelerate exponentially until the cooling area of the heat sink is substantially blocked.